Kevin Bacon has been forced to echo the remarks of Fox chief Kevin Reilly by insisting his new show The Following does not glorify violence. The new series - which premieres in the U.S. tonight (January 21, 2013) -follows Bacon's character, retired FBI agent Ryan Hardy who is pulled back into service to capture an escaped serial killer.

"I don't think it's too violent for everybody," Bacon told Vulture. "Here's the thing: I've done a lot of different kinds of movies, played a lot of different kinds of parts. I was in the very first Friday the 13th. I've been in silly movies and romantic movies and historic movies. My focus is to play the part with as much honesty and integrity as I can and to explore what I want to explore as an actor." Wise words from the Hollywood veteran, though Bacon says he was initially drawn to The Following for its high stakes premise, "I started to realise that the shows that I was watching - Breaking Bad, Homeland, The Killing, Game of Thrones - they're all really life-and-death situations, so I knew that was something I'd want."

The new series also stars James Purefoy and Natalie Zea. Early reviews have been favourable, with Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker saying, "Both Bacon and Purefoy are so intensely earnest, The Following quickly supersedes its patent Silence of the Lambs setup." Variety's Brian Lowry said, "There's no pulling punches, and exec producer Kevin Williamson delivers a full-throttle ride that, four episodes in, proves twisty, unpredictable and tense."